I am returning to the hobby after many years. I have some questions about paints.

I have mainly used Tamiya paints. What is the best primer to use with these paints?

Also what is the best and easiest to use and airbrush with?

Hi Mark, I use diluted Tamiya neutral grey for primer but Tamiya has great primer also and they are very good for air brushing. Vallejo air is also good but here it is harder to find. For brushing I use the valejo serie since Tam paint is just not usable for it.
Anyway Hope that help.

Phil.

Mark, welcome back to the hobby. If you've been out of the loop for a while, things have really changed since the good old days.

When I need to prime, I use Tamiya surface primer, which is lacquer based via my air gun. I do use the spray can from time to time, but I find that it generally puts out too much paint over too broad an area, and thus covers up some fine details. I use the Gray rather then the white, which I use when the top color is bright, not an earth tone.

As for which airbrush is easiest to use, is like asking which car should I buy. 1st, buy a quality air brush that will last you nearly a life time, and make sure that replacements parts are available. There are single and duel action guns, as well as gravity and siphon types.

The simplest to use is a single action, siphon gun like the Paasche H1. It comes with a standard # 3 cone and needle which is perfect for 80% of your needs. A #1 cone and needle will handle the rest of your needs. You can get a kit with everything you need for under $100. I've used this gun for more then 40 years without any issues. I bought a new one a few years ago just because the replacement parts didn't fit the old gun as they changed the thread size.

the single action siphon type gun is also the easiest to clean as the paint is mix externally.

Joel